Doors: 6 p.m.
Show: 7 p.m.

All Ages Welcome
No Refunds or Exchanges

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WHY YOU LIKE IT: Decoding Musical Taste – Live Experience is an immersive concert-lecture led by composer, musicologist, author and Music Genome Project architect Dr. Nolan Gasser, inspired by the acclaimed PBS special released in 2025. Blending live performance, storytelling and insights from neuroscience, psychology and culture, the show explores the hidden forces that shape our musical preferences and why music affects us so deeply. Dr. Gasser is joined by his virtuoso band, The Mighty Mighty. Rather than a fixed cast, the show is designed to be artistically flexible, featuring guest vocalists and musicians tailored to each market. Past and potential collaborators include Grammy-winning artists such as Ledisi, Aymée Nuviola, Etienne Charles and Malika Tirolien, among others — serving as examples of the caliber of talent that can be incorporated, offering presenters flexibility while maintaining a world-class artistic standard.

A defining feature of the live experience is its interactive audience engagement through the Why You Like It companion app. Guided from the stage by Dr. Gasser stage, audiences actively participate throughout the performance by responding to prompts that explore their musical identity. At the conclusion of the show, each participant receives a personalized playlist generated from their responses, extending the experience beyond the venue and transforming how audiences listen to and connect with music long after the performance ends.

About Nolan Gasser:

Nolan Gasser is a composer, pianist, author, and musicologist — most notably, the architect of Pandora Radio’s Music Genome Project. He is the author of the best-selling book WHY YOU LIKE IT: The Science Music & Culture of Musical Taste (Macmillan Publishers,) that has been called “a work of staggering erudition and breadth” by The Economist and forms the basis of Nolan’s hit 2025 PBS Special, WHY YOU LIKE IT: Decoding Musical Taste that first aired in March 2025 and has since received over 3000 airings nationwide. The PBS show presents a one-hour special format combining Dr. Gasser’s insights on the science of musical taste in conjunction with a live concert, animations and a pioneering interactive App.

The WHY YOU LIKE IT book breaks down what musical taste is, where it comes from and what our favorite songs say about us. The book explores the science, psychology and sociology of music to explain why humans love music, as it teaches music fans how to become engaged listeners and provides them with the tools to enhance their musical preferences.

Dr. Gasser takes readers under the hood of their favorite genres ― pop, rock, jazz, hip hop, electronica, world music and classical ― and covers songs from Taylor Swift to Led Zeppelin to Kendrick Lamar to Bill Evans to Beethoven, and through their work, introduces the musical concepts behind why you hum along, tap your foot and feel deeply. Why You Like It will teach you how to follow the musical discourse happening within a song and thereby empower your musical taste, so you will never hear music the same way again.

Dr. Gasser’s original compositions include a vast number of works including the opera Secret Garden (SF Opera), the orchestral works Cosmic Reflection (Baltimore Symphony) and the forthcoming musical Three Grape Leaves (premiering in Burgundy, France in May 2027), to name a few. Dr. Gasser also has an all-star world-fusion band, The Mighty Mighty, who will release their debut album, Border Crossing, in 2027.

In the world of tech, beyond his groundbreaking work at Pandora, Dr. Gasser is the co-founder of Katch Data, a leading “genomic” data company that works with major media players such as Meta, Paramount and Comcast. The company combines human and artificial intelligence to understand, quantify and predict individual taste across preference-driven products. This is the revolution of “genomic” analytics. Their data is used in Recommendation + Search, Marketing + Media Planning and Ad Activation, among other applications. Katch Data has successfully launched its initial product categories (film, TV, social media) and is now expanding its offerings to other formats (music, gaming, fashion, food, ads, etc.) — with plans to cover all major consumer lifestyle categories and build out a “Taste Passport” for consumers.

Dr. Gasser is currently involved in several Music AI projects, including as an expert music consultant for Google DeepMind on their cutting-edge AI initiatives.

Contact the host of eTown Presents Nolan Gasser & The Mighty Mighty: Why You Like It!